Description Gachos (Patagonian cowboys and ranchers) on horseback with the Torres Del Paine as their backdrop, riding horses with the herd dogs. This traditional way of life for these hardy people is changing in modern times, and we may not see this scene much longer. Torres del Paine National Park is the most popular tourist destination in Patagonia, South America.

Johnathan Esper, Adirondack Mountains, USAMember Since August 2008Artist Statement Come explore the wilderness landscapesof our world here, on Flickr, and at www.wildernessphotographs.com. Marvel at nature's grandeur alongside landscape and wilderness photographer and adventurer Johnathan Esper, whose passion is to explore and see our wild places in a new light.

Wildernessphotographs.com is an online professional photo gallery showcasing hundreds of unique wilderness places that you just can't find captured on film anywhere else. So browse the photo galleries, discover a world you didn't know existed, and share the passion for unique beauty.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------"In everyone there is born a spirit of adventure. In some, it is nurtured; in others, it is suppressed."- Johnathan Esper, 2004

I'm Johnathan Esper, the photographer behind wildernessphotographs.com. Currently, I am pursuing my wilderness and adventure photography passions full time. It is extremely difficult to make much money selling photos these in these days of cheap DSLR's, but I firmly believe in living your passions and true calling - to live rich and die poor if need be. My life is filled with traveling to and hiking in remote areas, and promoting and selling my photography. Ultimately, I'd love to be a high-profile adventure photographer for expeditions and outdoor athletes.

At 25, most would say I have lived a full life, and am blessed to be able to travel and explore as much as I do. And I agree. My passions are the outdoors and wilderness, photography, travel, mountaineering, hiking, kayaking, and extreme snowboarding. The photos you'll see here represent some of the wonderful sights I have witnessed during my many adventures. It is my passion to explore Creation, to marvel at its natural beauty, and to share my vistas with others. Photography is one way that helps me to stop and take the time to appreciate this beauty as I participate in extreme mountains sports, or just merely wonder and wander in wilderness. I hope you can appreciate this beauty equally.

I am blessed to have grown up in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State, which have instilled in me a love for the outdoors and their beauty. I am grateful for the heritage of appreciation for natural things that I've been given from my family. My love for the outdoors began when I was 11 days old and went winter camping in a tent with my mom and dad.

Throughout my younger years, I spent a considerable amount of time winter hiking in the Adirondack Mountains where I lived, and achieved several regional climbing records, such as being the youngest person to climb all the 4,000 ft. peaks in New York in the winter, and also completing that same group of mountains in the winter in the shortest amount of time. (Now my younger brothers have the youngest winter record.) Then I expanded my climbing goals to include all 4,000 foot peaks in the Northeast in the winter, and the United States highpoints. As I've gotten older, and had to focus on other things like college, I have never lost that love for the outdoors.

I've recently returned from a 9 month adventure in Patagonia, which involved a period of doing wildlife research data collection as part of a volunteer conservation group, going on a private expedition to Aconcagua and successfully summiting the highest in the Southern Hemisphere, and driving around Patagonia in my car, photographing and backpacking and exploring the landscape. Before that, I worked for a camp building a climbing wall, and I did a stint of grad school in the USA, but I realized life is too short to not be doing what you truly want to do. And before that, I went on a 10 month solo adventure in New Zealand, where I lived out of my car and hiked extensively. I was never in one place more than a couple weeks. This trip truly helped me discover my passion for wilderness travel and photography.